College Men's Basketball: Northern whips North Dakota

November 21, 2007|By Dave Vilhauer, dvilhauer@aberdeennews.com

It is one thing to know about an opponent's game plan. It is another thing to do something about it. Northern State blitzed the University of North Dakota right from the opening tip and made quick work of the Sioux Tuesday night. The Wolves were relentless on defense in an 86-62 non-conference men's college basketball triumph at Wachs Arena. “We came out ready to go,” said Northern center Robert Thomas. “Our intensity was good right away.” The Wolves jumped out to a quick 13-4 lead as North Dakota struggled handling Northern's pressure defense. “They came in and did exactly what we thought they were going to do, try to pressure us for the entire game,” said North Dakota coach Brian Jones. “They got us going pretty fast, faster than what we wanted to play. That's a credit to them. They executed their game plan, I'm sure.” The Wolves gradually extended their lead because the Sioux turned the ball over left and right. North Dakota had just eight more points than turnovers at halftime and trailed by 19 points. “Early on, we tried to crank up the pressure a little bit,” said Northern guard Craig Nelson. “We got a lot of extra possessions because they were turning the ball over so much.” Once the Wolves had the lead, they were not about to give it up. They quickly built the margin to 49-23 early in the second half as the Sioux managed just 23 points in the first 24 minutes of the contest. “They didn't have a great shooting night. I hope our defense had a little bit to do with that,” said Northern coach Don Meyer. “I thought we played hard. We still have to learn to keep a sense of focus or purpose all the time.” The Sioux eventually played better in spurts, but each time they managed to chip away the Wolves had an answer. The NSU lead never dipped below 19 points down the stretch. “They just never really got rattled,” Jones said. “They've got some seniors on that team that really know how to win. That's what we don't have. We don't have guys that know how to win right now.” The Wolves placed five players in double figures, led by Kevin Ratzsch with 15 points. Levi Hamilton added 14, Thomas followed with 13, Nelson contributed 12 and Derek Hoellein finished with 10. “We like our scoring balanced,” Thomas said. “We don't care who gets the credit.” A testament to that was the fact that the Wolves had 19 assists on 29 made field goals in the contest. “Our guards give us a big opportunity,” Thomas said. “They're great passers.” It was the third straight loss for the Sioux to start the season and Jones sees a pattern he dislikes. “Our three games have been the same thing,” Jones said. “We throw it all over the gym and we refuse to guard anybody. So we just have to get a lot better in a lot of areas.” The Wolves improved to 2-0 on the season and will host the Bob Wachs Classic on Friday and Saturday. Northern will face Graceland at approximately 8 p.m. Friday at Wachs Arena. NORTH DAKOTA (0-3): Emmanuel Little 3-7 11-17 17, Derek Benter 0-4 0-0 0, Ervin Youmans 3-8 1-1 7, Travis Bledsoe 3-4 0-0 9, Darius Joseph 4-7 0-0 8, Tyler Koenig 1-6 5-5 7, Josh Doyle 1-1 0-0 3, Daniel Harkins 0-2 0-0 0, Wes Porter 0-0 1-2 1, Denny Dumas 1-1 0-0 2, O.J. Harrison 0-2 1-2 1, Jimmy Hoy 1-4 0-0 2, Ben Lehnertz 2-2 1-2 5. Totals 19-48 20-29 62. NORTHERN STATE (2-0): Kevin Ratzsch 5-13 2-2 15, Levi Hamilton 6-12 2-4 14, Dan Magrino 0-0 0-0 0, Craig Nelson 3-5 3-4 12, Kyle Schwan 2-3 1-2 5, Jordan King 0-1 0-0 0, Luke Wicks 1-4 4-4 7, Derek Hoellein 3-5 1-1 10, Dan DeWitt 1-1 1-4 4, Casey Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Mitch Boeck 1-4 0-0 2, Robert Thomas 5-7 3-5 13, Marty Gregor 2-5 0-2 4. Totals 29-60 17-28 86. Halftime score - Northern State 40-21. 3-point field goals - North Dakota 4-12 (Little 0-1, Youmans 0-1, Bledsoe 3-3, Joseph 0-3, Doyle 1-1, Harkins 0-1, Harrison 0-2); Northern State 11-23 (Ratzsch 3-5, Nelson 3-5, Wicks 1-4, Hoellein 3-5, DeWitt 1-1, Boeck 0-3). Total fouls - North Dakota 23; Northern State 22. Technical foul - Schwan. Rebounds - North Dakota 33 (Little 9); Northern State 39 (Hamilton 10). Turnovers - North Dakota 20; Northern State 10. Assists - North Dakota 6; Northern State 19. Blocked Shots - North Dakota 1; Northern State 3. Steals - North Dakota 7; Northern State 6. Officials - Sherm Cutler, Jim Ricketts, Jeff Wilber.